“From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April dress’d in all his trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seem’d it winter still, and, you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.”
– William Shakespeare, Sonnet 98
Shakespearean resources from last year’s Shakespeare birthday post.
Poet of the Day: Wm. Shakespeare, of course.
11 poetry activities for today:
1. Read some Shakespeare in the original version.
2. Read Shakespeare in a modern English version.
3. Watch a play. Shakespeare Movies for the Family from Higher Up and Further In.
4. Memorize some of your favorite lines from Shakespeare.
5. Check out the Mental Multivitamin Bardolatry archives.
6. Find a live performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays to attend with your family.
7. Write or read a sonnet.
8. Read a biography or a historical nonfiction book about Shakespeare and his times.
9.Have some fun with Macbeth.
10. Answer these questions for a Shakespearean meme.
For a little humor, you might like this poem by Don Marquis about Shakespeare’s thwarted ambitions: